


Home for Christmas

by WindChimeGhost



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Christmas, Decepticon, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-13
Updated: 2012-12-13
Packaged: 2017-11-21 00:58:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/591639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindChimeGhost/pseuds/WindChimeGhost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being shrunk to a small size again by Perceptor’s shrink gun, Starscream is left to wander the streets of Detroit on a cold, snowy Christmas Eve night until he befriends a young girl named Clarice who takes him home with her. Starscream shows Clarice what having a mini Decepticon in the house can be like, and Clarice introduces Starscream to the wonders of Christmas.</p><p>(This is a sequel of sorts to my ‘Terrible Susie’ fanfic.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Critique not desired ~
> 
> For a couple of years I’ve wanted to write a Christmas Transformers fanfic, but I really haven’t had a good plot that I could work with. Then around Thanksgiving, the starting ideas for this fic hit me suddenly out of the blue one night and I just had to go with writing it. At first, I had plans for it to be really humorous, but the more I wrote on it the more warm and fuzzy it became. Fellow Starscream fangirls will probably get more enjoyment out of this fic than anyone else.
> 
> And, yes, this IS a sequel to my ‘Terrible Susie’ fic. It’s kinda different than the first one, but it is a sequel.
> 
>  
> 
> Transformers and all related characters © Hasbro
> 
> Fanfic and plot ©2012 by me (please do not take, use, or edit without my permission)

Starscream trudged through the snow-covered sidewalks of Detroit, dodging human feet and fighting against the swirling winds and blinding snow that constantly beat against him. Cars zoomed by, splattering him with more snow and even hard pieces of ice. The disgruntled seeker shot death glares at anything and anyone that dared come within two feet of him, but his glares went unnoticed by the people passing by him. He was no longer a threat and he had accepted this fact hours ago, although it still made him feel good to glare at something. His face softened and drooped and he sighed long and hard. He was alone and he was… tiny… again. After falling victim to Perceptor's shrink gun for a second time, he made up his mind that he wasn't going to go near those accursed Autobots ever again after he was turned back to normal. They were bad news as far as he was concerned. It would have been a perfect battle, he mused, if it hadn't been for Perceptor and his slagging gun. Not to mention the shrink gun breaking this time. Now he was stuck being fourteen inches high until the gun was fixed. Perceptor said it would be two or three days at the most, maybe longer depending on what was actually wrong with it. Optimus had offered to find him some place to stay until they could get him back to his normal size, but he had refused. No way was he going to give in to the Autobots’ kindness, much less stay with them or anywhere they offered. He already knew it would be a prison cell or some such room. So now he was left to fend for himself and at an embarrassing height. Memories of the last time he was turned small started returning to him and he shuddered. Ever since he started out wandering the city, he had taken great care to avoid any human children, preferably ones that looked as young as Susie had been.

Starscream shivered as another gust of freezing wind and snow blew over him. He wrapped his arms around himself and hunkered down next to a nearby store’s door until it passed. He was freezing inside and out and felt like his inner workings and systems weren’t functioning properly. In fact, his internal readouts were screaming warnings that everything was in danger of freezing up. What a night to be in this state, he thought. He needed a place to stay, but where?

“Cold,” he whispered to himself, “So… cold. WHY does this slagging planet have to be SO COLD??”

Another gust came up forcing the tiny seeker to hunker down again. He shivered until his armor rattled. That did it. He just couldn't go any farther. Instead, he settled himself in the corner, next to the door. No one was coming in or going out at that time, so it made the perfect shelter for the time being. Not having anything else to do, Starscream turned to look through the glass door. The store looked warm and inviting. There were shelves and glass display cases full of breads, rolls, cookies, cupcakes, doughnuts, cakes, and delectable pastries. Festively decorated tables stood near the door and on top of them were different types of breads and fruitcakes piled in the shape of Christmas trees with jars of jams, flavored butters, and other spreads nestled near the bottom. There was even a special table in the center of the store that was full of dainty gingerbread houses with graham cracker and frosting pathways lined with tiny gumdrops. The sight alone was enough to make anyone's mouth water. Not Starscream, though. He didn't know much about earth food since he never ate it, so the sight did little for him. He only had one thing on his mind: warmth. The bakery looked warm enough for him. He got up and prepared to go in but realized that he couldn't reach the handle. He longingly peered up at it and sighed. Forget flying up. Until he was properly thawed, he felt that neither his thrusters nor his transforming systems would work. Walking forward, he pressed his face against the glass, letting his claws slide down with a high-pitched squeal. He turned and wrapped his arms around him again and tried to keep his dental plates from chattering together. He couldn't feel his wings, hands, or his feet anymore and he felt like he would slip into recharge any moment.

Suddenly he felt a painful impact hit him from behind. The next thing he knew was that he was flying through the air without the use of his thrusters before making a hard and unceremonious landing in a large pile of snow on the sidewalk. Quickly he thrust his head up through the snow, coughing and gagging on the cold, wet stuff and spitting it out. He winced and gritted his teeth at feeling a glob of snow somehow make its way down into the back part of his aft armor. A sensation he certainly did not want to experience again.

“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” Came a voice high above his head. Screamer stopped struggling for a minute to look up at whatever it was that spoke. Standing right above him was a young human woman. He had no idea how young since humans were of no concern to him, let alone their aging cycle. All he knew is that she was somewhere between child and elderly, according to what little knowledge he had collected from observing the human world. She was rather pale looking and had short black hair that stuck out in places around the rim of the knitted hat on her head. The rest of her was hidden inside an overstuffed coat, scarf, pants, mittens, and snow boots. Seeing Starscream, she set the sacks she carried on the ground beside her, squatted down and started to dig the grey-blue and magenta colored seeker out of the snow.

“I am so, so sorry,” she said again, gently grabbing hold of Starscream with both hands and pulling him out. “Oh! You’re a robot. At first I thought you were an animal. You’re a strange looking robot at that. I don’t think I’ve seen any like you around here before.” She knocked the snow off his shoulder guards.

“An organic,” Starscream grumbled, “I should have known. Every time something happens to me when I’m this size there’s always an organic behind it!”

“Hey, wait a minute,” the girl placed Starscream down on the ground and pointed at him. “You look like those giant robots I’ve seen on the news. The Atto—Auto—Autobots! Yeah, that’s it. But you’re… small.”

“Rub it in, why don’t you. Pathetic human,” Starscream spat.

“That’s not a nice thing to say to someone who just rescued you from the snow.”

“I’m a Decep—” Starscream stopped short and thought carefully about his choice of words. A slight devious smirk formed on the corner of his mouth as he looked up at the human girl. He wouldn’t tell her what he was just yet, he thought. If he did it might ruin the plans he had in mind. “I’m… sorry. It’s just that I’ve… had a bad night, is all.”

It greatly pained him to act nice to the human, but he was cold and miserable and on the verge of going into stasis lock and didn’t feel like expressing any outbursts of anger that would take up more energy than he had. Besides, if he played his cards right he might be able to persuade this human female to let him go home with her, much as it killed him to think about—him, of all mechs, trying to get sympathy out of a human.

“You _are_ one of those robots!” the girl smiled down at him. She lifted a hand to scratch around Starscream’s neck and face. “You’re a cute little guy. And I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a bad night. Why are you so small when the others I’ve seen on TV are much larger?”

Starscream wrinkled his nose and pushed the hand away. “A… slight accident… happened that turned me this way.” he answered, “Purely temporary, I can assure you.” He wanted to ask the girl if he could go home with her, but something inside him—pride—just couldn’t do it. The woman turned and picked up her sacks and stood up.

“Well, I need to get going. I’ve got a dinner party to give in a few hours and it’s getting colder the longer I stay out here. My friend’s at home starting the food. She’ll be really upset if I don’t show up soon with these pastries. She’s the worry type—always panicking if someone doesn’t show within a certain length of time, especially when the weather is as bad as it is tonight. I don’t want her phoning for the police like last time. Since I decided to walk to the store, it’s going to take me longer getting home. If I had known the weather was going to be this bad I would have driven. You,” she pointed at Starscream, “stay away from doors from now on, you hear?”

Seeing the girl and his only chance at warmth walking away, Starscream ran along behind her, trying to keep her in sight. He stumbled over a couple of snow mounds and slipped and slid on a few ice patches.

“Please! Don’t leave me!” he suddenly shouted at her, half pleading. The girl stopped and turned around.

“What?” she said rather confused.

“Take me with you, please? I’m so cold.” he said, sniffling back a few tears.

The girl shifted the sacks to her other arm and walked up to Starscream, who by this time was about ready to drop where he stood. She knelt down on one knee, closing her mitten hand around him.

“Awwww, you poor thing; I had no idea. You should have told me sooner.” she whispered, picking up the seeker. With some difficulty, she unzipped her coat and placed him inside it. “You don’t have anywhere to go?” she asked, pulling the zipper up and closing him inside like a cocoon. Starscream shook his head as he nestled down in the warmth of the coat. The girl placed her hand and arm under him to keep him from falling out the bottom as she started toward her home. The front of her coat bulged oddly and wriggled as Starscream moved around inside, trying to find a more comfortable position. His wings got in the way and stuck up in weird places until he moved them downward.

“Ow! Watch it. What are you doing in there?”

“Making a nest,” Starscream answered sarcastically.

“Ha ha, very funny. Stop moving around so much. You’re heavier than you look.” she said, trying to get a better grip under Starscream.

“It would be wise if you kept your insults to yourself, human.” Starscream grunted, poking his head out the top of the girl’s coat near her neck.

“Sorry,” she said with a huff, “Sounds like someone’s in a grumpy mood tonight.”

“You would be too if you were half frozen.”

“That’s true. So do you have a name or do I just call you ‘robot’?”

Starscream frowned even though the human girl couldn’t see it. “My name is Starscream.”

“That’s very unique.” she said, before stumbling over a snow mound and catching her balance. “My name is Clarice.”

“Nice,” Starscream’s muffled voice came from within the coat. He didn’t sound all that impressed and even sounded like he was slightly annoyed that the human was trying to make conversation. For the rest of the trip both remained silent. Clarice focused her attention on where she was walking since the snow and wind were picking up again. She didn’t want to risk getting lost.

When they finally arrived at the house, the weather had become colder and worse, the wind whipping snow around them with a vengeance and maddened fury. Clarice staggered up the walkway and shakily walked up the steps, checking for ice patches before placing her foot down on each one. With her hands full of sacks and a miniature Decepticon, she didn’t need to be sliding down with no way of catching herself. The Christmas lights spiraling around the porch posts helped her to see the shiny surface of the ice, warning her ahead of time where she should and should not place her foot. Fortunately, her friend was waiting at the door and, seeing that she was having trouble, came out on the porch, took the sacks out of her arm, and helped to steady her until she made it inside the house.

“That weather is wicked out there!” the friend remarked, closing the front door. It took some effort since the wind on the other side kept forcing it to stay open as if trying to squeeze and sneak in every bit of chilling air it could before being shut out completely.

“Oh! Tell me about it. I didn’t think it was going to be this bad. I hope everyone can make it to the Christmas party tonight.” Clarice pulled her hat off and shook her hair. “Mmmm, and it smells good in here, Margaret.”

“It should. I’ve been slaving away over that stove for the past several hours.”

“You shouldn’t be complaining. You didn’t have to walk home in a blizzard.” Clarice said with a laugh.

“I know, I know,” Margaret caught sight of the ‘lump’ in Clarice’s coat. “Clarice, are you about to give birth or something?”

“What??” Clarice immediately looked down at her coat. “Oh…”

“Your coat,” Margaret pointed to it, “Are you about to give birth or did you eat up the bakery?”

Clarice smiled sheepishly and pushed past her friend and down the hallway. “It’s nothing, Margaret. If you’ll excuse me I’m going to pull off these wet clothes. I’ll join you in the kitchen in a few minutes.”

Clarice disappeared through the doorway leading to her bedroom, but stopped and peeked out into the hallway to see if Margaret was gone. When she saw that she was, she snuck out and made a dash for the door leading to the living room. Here she unzipped her coat and gently took Starscream out. She walked over to the fireplace and deposited the seeker down on the carpet in front of the hearth. She ran a hand over his head and skritched an area on his back, between his wings, and turned to leave the room.

“You just make yourself at home and I’ll be right back.” she said over her shoulder. Starscream wasted no time. Feeling the warmth that radiated from the fire in front of him, he quickly ran toward it, stopping far enough away where it wouldn’t burn him. He stretched his booted feet and hands out toward it first, rubbing his hands together and wiggling his claws. He then turned around and allowed the heat to flow over his wings, back, skidplate, and thrusters. He sighed in complete bliss as feeling started coming back to parts of his body that he felt sure were no longer there. Hitting his heels on the hearth, he shook out the ice and snow that had collected inside them and cringed. As he stood in the same position a few minutes, nursing and rubbing feeling back into his frozen bottom, his optics wandered around the rest of the room until they landed on a curious object across from him, in front of the window. It was a tall tree decorated in glittering, dangling objects and tiny twinkling multi-colored lights. Under it was a cloth and some cube shaped items in various sizes and colors. It was actually kinda pretty, he thought. He tilted his head to the side, studying it and wondering why humans felt a need to put such a thing inside their house. He didn’t remember seeing one in the last house he was in when he was small the first time.

His optics moved from the tree to more twinkling lights (these being white in color) and some greenery draped around the doorframe. His optics blinked a few times as his mind tried to understand the purpose of the odd display. He suddenly remembered seeing something similar decorating the city when he was walking along the sidewalks. In a way, it reminded him of decorations that had adorned the metal buildings back on Cybertron when there was a festive occasion or Cybertronian holiday. That had been so long ago, before the war. He had forgotten about it. The war had almost pushed it from his memory for good. Could it be that these humans were no different than his own race when it came to certain things?

Starscream turned his head to look up above him and spotted more oddities in the form of what looked like socks hanging from the mantelpiece and more twinkling lights on the mantel itself. There was a statue of a bearded guy in a red suit standing beside the fireplace. He wore a jolly expression on his face and held a toy of some kind in one hand. Not seeing anything else around the room, he turned his attention back to the tree—that sparkling, glittering, pretty, towering thing. His optics followed the height of it, all the way to the tip top where a silver star completed it. The more he stared at it, the more he had the urge to climb it or fly to the top. His optics fixated on one specific ornament that dangled in front. He was hypnotized by it. As he stared, it twirled lazily on the soft breeze that flowed through the room, reflecting the rainbow lights and glimmering like an Allspark shard. Allspark shard! He had to have a closer look at all of those dangling beauties. More than that, he had to _have_ them… all of them. He didn’t know why, but he wanted them—to have, to hold, to touch.

Just as Starscream started moving toward the tree as if in a trance, Clarice returned to the room, breaking the spell that had entranced him so. He grumbled something under his breath, took another quick glance at the tree, and turned to look at the girl. She carried a box in her hands. He shuddered, wondering what it might be.

“Alright, I’m back. Are you warm enough yet?” she asked, kneeling on the floor and placing the box beside her. Starscream didn’t know what to say or how to answer this human. His natural personality and instincts wanted to kick in and be irritable. After all she _was_ a human and he loathed humans just as much as he loathed Autobots, maybe even a tad more. He suppressed wrinkling his nose at her, though, thinking she would take it as a personal offense and kick him out of the house. Humans were strange like that.

“Yes, I’m warm now and my systems are starting to operate as they should again,” was all he said, walking off the hearth and toward the box. He was cautious, yet a bit curious. He watched as the girl took out a piece of quilted cloth of which she handed to him. He hesitated a minute before reaching out and taking it.

“What do I do with this?” he asked. Humans certainly were odd.

“Wrap it around you to keep you warm, silly.” she replied, smiling.

“I’m not silly,” he mumbled, slowly putting the cloth around his shoulders.

“And these are hot water bottles.” said Clarice, holding up the two rubber things as if they were fish she just caught. “I thought you might enjoy them. They’ll keep you warm too.”

She placed a towel around one of the bottles and put it down on the floor and motioned for Starscream to come over to it. He remained standing where he was, looked at the bottle and then back at Clarice, not completely understanding how such a strange looking thing could generate warmth. He sighed and walked over to it. Without warning, Clarice picked him up under the arms and set him down on it. He wasn’t sure which was the most shocking: that the human had picked him up like a child, the strange feeling of the water moving inside the bottle, or the surprising amount of heat that suddenly came in contact with his rear. He quickly jumped up and peered down at the rubber thing.

“It’s hot!” he exclaimed.

“It’s supposed to be. That’s why I said that it’ll keep you warm.” Clarice giggled, reaching into the box again.

Starscream inched over to the bottle, pushing on it once with his hand, making it slosh. He eased onto it, jumping up again. The second time he tried, he decided to slide onto it belly down and wrapped his arms around it. He felt ridiculous. When the bottle’s heat became bearable, he shot the girl a menacing glare and clinched his dental plates together. But he calmed himself when the bottle actually became pleasant and comfortable to him. He sighed, feeling recharge coming. Maybe this odd thing wasn’t so bad after all.

Smiling, Clarice picked up the other bottle and gently placed it up against Starscream. The seeker jolted and rolled off and onto the floor.

“Give me warning next time!” he hissed, rubbing his shoulder and arm where the bottle had touched him.

“I’m sorry,” Clarice said, taking the bottle away. “I’ll leave it here in case you want it later.”

Grumbling, Starscream lay back down on the first bottle. He wrapped his arms around it and clutched it to him like a stuffed toy. Clarice picked up the cloth she had given him and placed it over the seeker, tucking it around him.

“Clarice! Where are you? I thought you were going to come in here after changing clothes. The third batch of cookies is coming out of the oven and we still need to make the eggnog!” Margaret’s voice traveled through the house and reached the living room.

“I need to go help my friend. Our guests will be arriving shortly, if they can make it through the storm.” Clarice stood up, picking up the box and putting it over by the couch. “You’re welcome to stay in here and I’ll see to it that no one bothers you. And I trust that you won’t give me any trouble, right?”

Starscream moved his head to peer up at the girl but said nothing. Clarice gave him a look of warning and left the room. Not really caring, Screamer yawned and fell prey to recharge.

~ ~ ~

The sounds of people talking and laughing loudly woke Starscream out of a deep slumber. Cracking his optic shutters open, he looked around the room in a confused state. Then he suddenly remembered where he was and sighed. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep, but he guessed it hadn’t been too long. It sounded like Clarice’s party was well underway in some other part of the house. He pulled the cover over his head in an attempt to block out the noise and prepared to go back into recharge. That’s when a jazzy and swinging rendition of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ started blaring through the whole interior of the house at startling volume. Starscream jolted awake and rolled off his hot water bottle. One or two of his claws pierced the bottle’s rubber exterior sending small jets of water spewing out onto the carpet. He immediately jumped up, glanced at the damage, and threw a threatening glare toward the door as if it would help to solve all his problems.

“Pathetic organics,” he fumed to himself. “Why must they make _that_ much noise? If I were my normal size, I’d give them noise like they never heard!”

Starscream stood and listened to the music and clamor going on in the other room. Finally curiosity got the best of him. He had to go see what it was all about. He might as well since recharge wasn’t going to come again any time soon. Starscream started walking toward the door, catching sight of the Christmas tree again. He stopped and stared at it. He still needed to investigate it. Did he want to get a closer look at it or the party? Why not both? He continued walking toward the door, making a mental note about the tree for when he returned.

Poking his head around the corner of the end of the hallway, Starscream observed the dining room. It was beautifully decorated in lights, greenery, candles, and a small tree. The table in the center was decked out in full dress with elaborate glasses and plates and foods of different varieties. People gathered around it and were engaged in heavy conversation, laughter, and merriment. Although it was beyond him how they could hear each other over the music coming from the CD player in the corner. He spotted Clarice coming in from the kitchen. She held a tray full of more food and placed it down on a corner of the table. Margaret was there too, serving even more foods. He never saw a race that ate so much. And it reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything in a long time. He felt his fuel tank rumble. Reaching behind him he pulled out a barrel of oil from his subspace pocket. He noted that it had obviously shrunk along with him, which he found to be interesting. Settling himself on the floor next to the cupboard near him, he drank his fill of oil while studying the activities of the humans.

“This is some Christmas party, Clarice. I think it’s the best one you’ve had yet.” one of the female guests remarked, picking up her glass to take a swig of whatever she was drinking.

“Why thank you, Blair,” Clarice smiled. “At first I didn’t think it would turn out this good. We hit a few snags along the way, but it turned out a lot better than I thought.”

“At least you didn’t burn the turkey like a couple of years ago.” Margaret jested. Everyone started laughing when the good memories came back to each of them.

“Leave it to Clarice to burn a whole turkey.” someone said before they started laughing again.

Starscream didn’t really understand what was so funny. He silently admitted that burning a turkey did sound like fun. However, it sounded like they were making fun of the girl’s failure to cook, but yet he could hear her laughing along with them as if it didn’t bother her. If someone had said something like that to him he would have destroyed them right then and there.

“I remember walking into the house and smelling that bird burning and thinking, is the house on fire?” a girl snorted and started laughing again. “Then Margaret comes out of the kitchen, hair all sticking up, sweat running down her face and she leans against the doorframe and looks at me saying, ‘Clarice just burnt the turkey. I dunno how that girl managed to do it, but she did. I don’t know what we’re going to eat now.’ And that’s when Paul went out to the store and got that ham that was so salty no one could eat it. So we ended up ordering a pizza. I think we didn’t eat until after midnight.”

Everyone burst out laughing again.

“It’s too bad Paul and Lucy couldn’t make it this time.” a young man said from the other side of the table.

“They were going to come, but they called a few minutes before everyone arrived and said that the storm was too much for them. They didn’t want to risk it.” Clarice said.

The humans continued to talk as they ate, the Christmas music still blaring in the background. By this time someone had reached over and turned it down a few notches, making it easier to hear the conversation. Starscream finished the last of his oil, slipped the empty drum into his subspace pocket, and thought. One of them mentioned this being a ‘Christmas’ party. What was this ‘Christmas’? Was that what all of the decorations were about?

Wanting a better view, Screamer got up and maneuvered his way around the furniture until he came to an empty chair setting next to the buffet table. He climbed it, quickly stole a glance around to make sure no one had seen him and then made his way onto the table. He hopped over platters, plates, and bowls and dodged a lit candle until he got to the other side. Here he jumped onto a small end table and made his way up the side of the cupboard. His claws stuck into the wood, making it easy for him to climb up. When he made it to the top, he hid among the decorations that had been placed there. Peeking over the side, he looked down at the group below. The meal was still going on and everyone seated around the table were lost in their conversation and chatter. No one had even noticed him.

Starscream settled down and made himself comfortable on top of the cupboard. Before directing his attention back on the humans below him, he took a few minutes to look over the decorations around him. There were shiny plastic balls of various colors, pinecones, and pine greenery, all of which had been quickly arranged in a shaky, unstable display. It easily had the appearance of being a last-minute idea. Curiously, he leaned over and peered at his reflection in one of the largest red balls and stretched out a finger to poke it. The tip of his claw made a tap sound when it came in contact with the metallic plastic surface. In doing this, he unintentionally started the ball moving. It rolled and kept on rolling until it teetered on the very edge. Panicking, Starscream tried grabbing hold of it but it was too late. The ball fell. Immediately he moved to the back and pushed his body against the wall, fearing someone would see him. In the midst of his scrambling, his boot hit another ball. It just happened to find its way to the edge as well and disappeared over the side. He froze, hearing a few of the humans talking about it down below, which was followed by some laughing. Then he saw a hand appear over the edge and place the balls back on the cupboard’s top. Everything went back to normal and he sighed a sigh of relief before inching his way to the edge, careful not to knock anything else off.

An hour passed by and Starscream was beginning to get bored of the party. Not much had happened that he considered exciting. The humans had talked pretty much the whole time about anything and everything imaginable from world events and movies to past Christmases and someone’s Uncle Joe who had the unique ability to play the harmonica with his nose. Some of it, he admitted, had been interesting, but most of it he considered pointless. It was beyond him how someone could ramble endlessly about everything in the universe. They talked more than Megatron did when he made his usual boring long-winded speeches to the troops. Dessert, apple cider, and hot chocolate were served without so much as putting a pause on the conversation. Shortly after, everyone cleared the table and board games were brought out. Starscream had watched this unfold with some amount of interest. Something called ‘trivial pursuit’ was everyone’s choice. At first the game was somewhat confusing to the seeker, but he soon understood the gist of it, although he couldn’t answer half of the questions since they were earth-related in someway.

The game was still going on when Starscream lost interest in the evening’s activities altogether. He yawned and shook himself awake. Turning over on his side, he wasn’t aware of how close he was to the edge of the cupboard and fell off. Acting on instinct, he activated his thrusters. They sputtered and popped and finally came on, saving him from hitting the small table under him. He flew a short distance before his thrusters gave out, causing him to land on the buffet table instead with a hard bang. He rolled a little piece through the platters and face planted right in the middle of the potato salad. The humans in the room screamed and jumped up. Startled and realizing his small moment of clumsiness had made himself known, Starscream flailed and kicked, throwing dishes and food in all directions before he finally managed to get up and jump to the dining table where he ran across the game board, trailing dip and salad footprints behind him. He half fell, half jumped from there to the floor and quickly made a beeline down the hall and into the living room and hoped no one followed. He stopped in front of the couch and waited, breathing hard. He could hear the chaotic commotion going on in the dining room. Clarice was trying to calm everyone and explain things. The guests were one jumbled mass of talking at once.

Turning, Starscream hopped on one foot while shaking food off the other. When he approached the fireside, he picked up the makeshift blanket Clarice had given him and washed the remaining food off his body and face. He cringed at the sight and smell. Reaching behind him, he pulled a chip from off his back that had been stuck there with dip. Feeling something else behind him, he again reached back and pulled out a small piece of celery that had been wedged in a crevice.

Starscream finished cleaning himself and sighed while staring ahead into the fire. His little adventure was turning out to be one horrible nightmare just like before. But he did have to admit that this time it was a little better. At least he didn’t have Susie to contend with. Anything was better than that horrid little monster of an organic. He looked down at the floor where he had tracked food all over the carpet. Something told him that Clarice wasn’t going to like that. In a way, he actually felt bad about doing that. He didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she did, after all, show kindness to him by letting him come home with her… even though he… sort of conned her into it. He was beginning to feel bad about that too. Slag it.

All of his problems soon vanished when his optics caught sight of the Christmas tree for the third time that night. Smirking, he quickly walked over to it. He stopped and stood at the base of the tree, peering up at the gorgeous playground before him. His optics sparkled as they caught sight of the same crystal ornament that had so entranced him before. It twirled slowly, catching and reflecting any and all light that hit it. He reached out and grabbed hold of it and tugged until it gave way and slid into his claws. He frowned when he saw that it wasn't an Allspark fragment. But it was still just as pretty. He turned the object over and over, studying it and pondering over the absurdity of it. He leaned over and placed it on the floor at his feet before turning back to the tree. He reached and took off another ornament nearby, this one shaped like a rocking horse. His optics blinked as he studied it closer. Placing it on the ground next to the first one, he moved to take off more ornaments, each one he studied before placing it on the floor. When he had cleared the bottom branches, he jumped up into the ones over his head and climbed to the center of the tree.

For about an hour, Starscream busied himself with investigating the lights, tinsel, and removing ornaments and dropping them to the floor. Two piles soon formed on the rug at the bottom of the tree: ornaments he liked and ornaments he didn’t like. When he arrived at the very top of the tree, he grabbed hold of the star topper and stuck his head out of the branches and looked over the room. He could clearly see everything now, including the decorations on the mantel. He saw more greenery and lights and a house or building of some sort with people and animals inside.

A heavy gust of wind suddenly rattled the glass in the window beside the tree and howled through the cracks. Starscream turned his attention toward it. The curtains were pulled to the side and he could see out on the porch. There were white lights twirled around the posts. Beyond that was a heavy white mass of snow that resembled fog. It was impossible to see anything past the porch edge. Starscream shivered as he thought back to when he was out in all of that, or at least the mildest part of it. Frost had formed on the windowpanes and everything looked exceedingly cold. He listened. The house was quiet now, except for the wind outside. Clarice’s guests must have left already.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Starscream snapped his head around at hearing the stern sounding voice. Clarice was standing not too far away, hands on her hips and a tired, angry look plastered on her face. She held a towel in one hand. Her short black hair was mussed up and stuck out in weird places. The night’s activities and stress showed on her. Starscream said nothing. He only smiled as he cowered down into the tree branches.

“Come out of there right now!” Clarice said sternly, approaching the tree and shaking some of the branches. Starscream came down the length of the tree, hitting just about every branch on the way down before landing hard on his bottom at the base, his feet tangled up in the light strands. Clarice reached under it and roughly grabbed onto him, untangling him and pulling him out by one arm as if he were a child. “You ruin my party, you track food all over my house, and now you take apart my Christmas tree.” She shoved the seeker forward toward the fireplace. He immediately stopped and turned an angry glare at her.

“What am I, your child?!?!” he shrieked.

“You act like it!” she returned in somewhat of an equal voice. “Look at this mess.” she pointed to the pile of ornaments at her feet. Starscream glanced at them and lowered his head.

“I—I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I was just curious.”

Clarice sighed, steadying her voice. “I would appreciate it if you’d pick them up and put them back on.”

“Why should I?” he retorted without missing a beat.

“Are you serious? Because you made the mess,” she replied, putting her hands on her hips again. “Since you made it, you’re the one who’s going to clean it up and put it all back.”

“You aren’t the boss of me, human. I don’t have to if I don’t want to.” Starscream crossed his arms over his chest.

Clarice eyed the tiny seeker in bewilderment. “I have never seen someone so obstinate and hardheaded! I feel sorry for your teammates.”

Starscream started to feel rather uneasy and lowered his arms.

“Look, I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’m tired after the cleaning I had to do in the dining room and I’d like to just sit down and enjoy the rest of the night in peace.” Clarice sighed, walking over to the area in front of the fireplace and sitting down on the floor. She grabbed a throw off the couch to wrap around her. Starscream pondered over the current situation. The girl was sorry she yelled at him? No one had ever told him that before. Usually everyone enjoyed yelling at him without so much as an apology afterward. He turned his head to look at the girl.

“The guests…?” he broke the silence.

“Have all gone home, after helping me clean up the mess YOU made.” Clarice finished.

Starscream’s head drooped again. He slowly started walking toward the tree, stopping next to one pile of ornaments. He turned, again, to look behind him at the girl and sighed. Carefully he picked up each ornament one at a time and began hanging them back on the tree until they were all hung in their proper places. The very last one he held in his hands. Turning it over and over, he finally walked forward and hung the crystal on a low branch on the front. He smiled.

“It’s all done,” he announced, walking toward the fireplace and up to Clarice’s side. She simply handed him the wet cloth she had been holding and pointed at the trail of food on the carpet. He sighed, took it and began scrubbing.

When the floor was clean, he walked over to the girl again and looked up at her, expecting to be reprimanded for everything he’d done. She smiled down at him and closed her book.

“Thank you,” she said before reaching out to pull Starscream closer to her in a hug. He scrambled until he got loose of the embrace. “What? You don’t like to be hugged?”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“What I just gave you.” she giggled.

“No one’s… ever done… that to me before.”

“Are you serious? No one’s ever given you a hug?”

Starscream rolled his shoulders and tucked his hands behind his back and dug the tip of his boot into the carpet. Clarice’s smile got wider. Gently, she wrapped her arm around Starscream again and pulled him toward her and offered him a corner of her throw. He cautiously took it and wrapped it around him and sat down on the floor beside her. He wasn’t sure what to think about it at first, but then he decided that he liked it and snuggled up under it.

“Clarice,”

“Yes?” she answered.

“I’m sorry about the party… and the tree… and food,” he looked over at the punctured hot water bottle, “and your rubber bottle thing.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled. “It’s Christmas. Let’s just forget it ever happened.”

“Really?” Starscream said quizzically, tilting his head. “You—you aren’t gonna beat me or yell at me?”

Clarice turned a confused look toward her new friend. “Beat you? Why would I beat and yell at you?” she laughed.

He shrugged. “That’s what everyone else does when I mess up and fail—if they don’t try to kill me first.”

“Awwwww,” the girl approached the seeker to give him a hug, but stopped when he leaned away from her.

There was a pause and silence in the air, the only sounds being the crackle of the fire and the wind outside. The wind was still blowing furiously. Every gust that came made the house pop and creak and almost give the impression that it was leaning in the direction the wind was blowing. Everything about the living room—the fire, the tree, the semi-darkness—made the atmosphere seem nice and cozy. There was a strange sort of comfort knowing that the elements were raging outside while inside everything was snug and warm and protected. Starscream turned to look at the girl beside him. She was busy staring off into the fire, apparently thinking hard about something.

“Clarice?”

“Hm?”

“What’s Christmas?” Starscream asked.

The girl moved her head to peer at the mini seeker. “You don’t know what Christmas is?”

Starscream shook his head.

“It’s a holiday that people celebrate on the twenty-fifth of December every year. It’s a time of joy, peace, hope, and love. It’s a time of good memories and being with family and friends and people you love. It’s a time of caring and giving.”

“Is that what all of these decorations are for and why you were having the party?” Starscream gestured at the tree. Clarice nodded. He took a better and longer look at the tree and pointed directly at it. “What do you call that thing?”

“It’s a Christmas tree—a tradition that’s been a part of the holiday for many years, as are the gifts under it. People buy each other gifts, wrap them, and place them under the tree until Christmas morning.”

“Does everyone get a gift?”

“Yeah, everyone gets a gift.” Clarice smiled.

“Why?” Starscream asked, like a child.

“That’s just something you do at Christmas because you love the person you’re giving it to. It symbolizes the greatest gift of all and what Christmas is all about.” here she pointed up, toward the nativity scene setting on the mantel. Since Starscream was too small to see it, she got up and gently took hold of the barn to set on the floor. “God gave us Jesus because He loves us, so we remember it by giving gifts to the ones we love and also giving to those less fortunate.”

Starscream blinked his optics and turned toward the girl. “God?—Primus?” he whispered. It was her turn not to understand.

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” Starscream breathed, again turning toward the barn. He gently reached out and picked up the figures one at a time—the donkey, a sheep, Joseph, Mary, a Wiseman, baby Jesus—to look at them closer. Finally he picked up the angel and turned it around in his hand. He looked up at the girl in a questioning manner. “Do some humans have wings?”

“Ha ha, no. That’s an angel. They’re a supernatural being that’s different than humans.”

“Oh,” Starscream again turned to look at the figure. “I think I’ve heard of them before, but I don’t remember where or when.”

They sat in silence a few minutes, the snow storm continuing to rage outside.

Starscream sighed wearily, the angel figure slipping from his claws. “Everything—the decorations, the parties—reminds me of my own planet, how the buildings used to be decorated for special occasions. That was… so long ago. I’ve almost forgotten about it.”

“Did you celebrate Christmas?”

“No,” Screamer turned to face Clarice. “But we had our own holidays that we used to celebrate before the war. They were always fun times, with a lot of gatherings.”

Clarice studied Starscream. “You’re lonely, aren’t you?”

“Me?! Lonely? Of course not. Why would you say that?”

“Just the way you talk when you mention your home and the memories.”

“Don’t be silly, human.” Screamer sneered. “I’m not the foolish sentimental type. If I were my normal size you’d be my slave!”

“If you say so,” the girl smiled. “Why would I be your slave? I thought the Autobots were friendlier than that.”

Starscream stiffened. “Uh… well… I’m sort of… different. Besides, you forget that I’ve had a bad day. I’m always cranky when I have bad days.”

“Right,” she nodded, “I forgot.”

“I meant to say ‘partner’.” he lied, feeling rather uneasy. He coughed and cleared his throat. “Clarice,” hoping to change the subject, he pointed to the bearded man beside the fireplace. “Who’s that?”

“That’s Santa Claus,” she answered, “also known as Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas. He’s a Christmas tradition in many cultures also. Every Christmas Eve—like the one tonight—he flies around the world in his reindeer-drawn sleigh and gives presents to children who have been good and coal to the ones who have been bad.”

“Rain deer?”

“No, reindeer,” Clarice laughed, “like this one,” she reached over on the table beside the couch and picked up a wooden figurine of a reindeer and handed it to the seeker. He took it and looked at it.

“How can these organic beasts fly? They don’t even have wings.”

“That’s something that’s part of the fantasy, Starscream. They’re magic flying reindeer.”

“Sounds silly to me.” he said at last. “How can one fat organic possibly fly around an entire planet in one night? I’m the fastest flier and I can’t even pull that off. It’d make more sense if this angel did that.”

“Santa is supposed to be magical too.” the girl said with a laugh. Her new friend amused her.

“Magical or not, it’s still silly.”

“That means you’ll get coal.” Clarice jested.

“Is this human for real?” Starscream looked at her skeptically.

“He was at one time. Now he’s more or less a tradition like I said. It’s just something we do for fun around this time of the year to make the season a little more magical and whimsical, especially for the children. I guess you’d say that he’s more of a state of mind and heart. I personally think there’s a little bit of Santa in all of us around this time. It’s linked with the spirit of caring and giving and that unexplainable something inside of you that makes you want to put a smile on someone’s face.”

Starscream’s optics blinked as he thought about it all, letting the wooden reindeer fall from his hands onto the floor beside the nativity pieces.

“Starscream,” Clarice twirled and fingered a piece of the throw, not taking her eyes away from the fire. “I’m glad I found you tonight. I was afraid that I’d be alone.”

Starscream looked back at the girl. “You have no one to be with?”

Clarice shook her head. He noticed that her eyes looked kind of watery, like she was holding something back. Starscream felt rather uneasy since he’d never been in this sort of situation before. He quickly looked around the room as if expecting to find someone standing there that could easily take over for him. The rough Decepticon inside of him and his own personality traits wanted to show themselves, but he did everything within his power to suppress them. At last he sighed wearily. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to forget his Decepticon faction for just this one time. After all it was Christmas, right? He turned back to Clarice.

“Do… you… uh… have any family?” the words sounded awkward.

“I used to,” Clarice continued staring. “My parents died last summer in a car accident. My sister left us three years before, and we never heard from her after that. I don’t know where she is now. She never calls, never writes, never e-mails. She didn’t even show at our parents’ funeral. For all I know she could be dead too.

Last Christmas was the hardest, but I’ve dreaded this year’s about as much. It’s always during the special times and holidays that the memories are the heaviest. The memories are there to help make things easier, especially the happy ones. I’m thankful that I got to spend as much time with my parents as I could, and I know I’ll see them again someday. But whenever I start remembering back, I can’t help feeling a little sad that they’re no longer here with me. It’s hard to get in my mind that they won’t ever be coming to visit anymore.”

Clarice wiped tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. Silence filled the air and Screamer continued staring at the girl. He wasn’t much for sympathy and didn’t know how to react. He moved closer to her. What had Clarice given to him?—a hug? Slowly he put his arms around Clarice’s side and leaned against her and squeezed. Sniffling, Clarice looked down at the seeker and smiled. She reached to pick him up, expecting some resistance. There wasn’t any this time. Much as it pained him to do so, Starscream gave in and allowed the girl to lift him off the floor and put him in her lap. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close to her chest, putting her cheek to his head. She then moved and covered him over with the throw, never letting her embrace on him loosen. Starscream had to admit that the new arrangement was pretty warm and snuggled closer to the girl.

“You told me that Christmas is a joyous time.” Starscream said at last. “Let us not ruin it with sadness. Why don’t you tell me about some of the past Christmases that you’ve had? The happy ones, I mean.”

Clarice cleared her eyes and nose, laughed, and thought a moment before going off into telling of one of her fondest and funniest memories that happened when she and her sister were kids and she had gotten Santa and the Easter Bunny confused with each other. Starscream didn’t find much humor in it since all of it meant very little to him, but the memories made Clarice happy and that’s all that mattered. He liked seeing her happy and laughing instead of crying. He didn’t know why. It just seemed more natural and seemed to go along with the atmosphere and the decorations more than the tears. It was a shame to have such beautiful decorations and festivities while wearing a sad face and leaking eyes. He had always been happy when he joined in on the celebrations back on Cybertron. He never remembered anyone having sad faces then. While he didn’t know much about Christmas other than what Clarice already told him and he didn’t quite understand everything linked with the holiday, he did understand that it was a special and sacred time for humans and a time that shouldn’t be wasted on sadness. His optics moved to look down at the stable and nativity figures setting on the floor in front of them.

Clarice and Starscream talked late into the night until they both fell asleep by the fire. The snow storm lasted well into the night hours as well, covering the entire city in a fresh, deep blanket of white. When morning finally arrived, Starscream was the first to wake. He eased out of Clarice’s hold and carefully crawled over her legs and down to the floor. He stretched and worked the cricks out of his wings and walked over to the tree. He stared long and hard at the ornaments and the gifts and the other decorations. While looking at the gifts he turned to look at Clarice.

“Everyone gets a gift? We give because we love those we’re giving to?” he whispered to himself and sighed. “I have nothing to give. Besides, Decepticons know nothing about love and have no love to give.” his optics blinked thoughtfully. “Or do we…? We were not always like that. We loved at one time. Have we become so obsessed with this war that we’ve allowed ourselves to be lost?”

Starscream’s wings drooped and his face softened. Something warm was growing inside him, but he didn’t know why. Quickly he reached behind him and began rummaging around in his subspace pocket, pulling out random and mismatched items and things he had collected over the many years and putting them back when he saw they weren’t what he was looking for. Finally, he pulled out a strange, alien looking figure that appeared to be made out of a precious rock or mineral that was bluish in color with a hint of maroon swirled in. It was something he had picked up a long, long time ago on some distant planet that he had since then forgotten the name of. Smiling in satisfaction, he gently placed the ugly thing under the tree, next to the other gifts. Seeing that the other gifts were beautifully wrapped, he dug around in his pocket again until he pulled out some kind of string that could be tied around the figure. He wasn’t the greatest at tying strings, much less tying them in attractive bows, but he did his best. He stepped back to admire his work before slipping away and back to Clarice’s side.

Smiling, he walked up to the girl and poked her nose. She moved and groaned. Again, Starscream poked her nose. She lifted a hand up to scratch the feeling away and then stretched and yawned. Screamer backed away from the stretched out arm that seemed to keep growing until he stumbled and landed on his bottom. The thump helped in waking the girl up completely.

“Oh, Starscream, did I hit you?”

“No,” Starscream answered simply, getting back on his feet. He smiled. “Merry Christmas! I… think that’s how you taught me to say it.”

Clarice smiled at him as she moved to a sitting position. She stretched her hand out toward him. Starscream walked over and allowed her to hug him.

“Merry Christmas to you too.” she whispered close to his audio before planting a small kiss on his head. The hug was alright, Starscream admitted, but at feeling the girl’s lips he began to squirm until she released him. Getting to her feet, Clarice placed the throw on the couch and shook herself awake. Coffee sounded good to her and so did a little breakfast. She yawned again. Just as she was about to make her way toward the door, Starscream walked up to her and tugged on her pants leg.

“Are you going to open your gifts?” he said gently. Then again, maybe breakfast could wait.

“Alright,” she laughed. Starscream led the way to the tree where Clarice sat on the floor and picked up the nearest gift. She stopped when her eyes landed on the one Starscream had placed there. She reached to pick it up instead. “Hey, what’s this?”

“Just a little something,” he smirked.

“Aww, aren’t you sweet.”

“Just… don’t tell anyone.” Starscream blushed. “Consider it a thank you gift for allowing me to stay here.”

Smiling, Clarice glanced around her for something to give Starscream. Her eyes landed on the crystal ornament dangling in front of her. She had seen Starscream eyeing it the night before. Nodding, she reached out and gently took it off the branch and handed it down to Starscream. He looked from it to the girl. She pushed it toward him in a gesture for him to take it. He lifted his hands and cupped them around the crystal.

“For me?” he said, barely above a whisper. Clarice nodded. He looked down at the ornament again then back at her. He smiled. “Thank you. I don’t think anyone’s ever given me anything before.”

“Are you serious?”

Starscream rolled his shoulders. “I’m not the type everyone likes.”

“I don’t see why. You’ve been wonderful company to me.”

Starscream coughed and cleared his throat, feeling uneasy again. “Only because it’s Christmas, I’ll have you know… human. And because I’ve been cold and weak.”

“I think you’re just misunderstood.”

Screamer’s eyebrow plate rose slightly, his inner self wanting to show through. He took a deep breath and sighed instead. “Yes, misunderstood—that is exactly it. They don’t know how much potential I have either. But someday they will.” He looked down at the ornament in his hands and smiled greedily.

“I also think you’re cute, sweet, and respectable.” said Clarice, “Although you do have a bit of hardheadedness in you, and a knack for getting yourself into trouble.”

“You don’t know the half of it, girl.” Screamer mumbled to himself, clutching the crystal ornament in his fist. “Everyone has their flaws.” he said aloud.

Clarice smiled at him and stretched out her hand to tickle his stomach. Starscream jumped at the touch and moved away.

“A bit touchy too, perhaps.”

“I’m just not used to being touched in ways that you wish to touch me. I’m a hardened warrior, what do you expect?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” she held up her hands.

“It’s okay. Just… don’t let it happen again.”

“No more touching unless it’s hugs.”

“Sounds good to me,”

“Now, how about some breakfast while we open the rest of the gifts, hm?”

Starscream smiled and nodded.

For the rest of the day, Starscream stayed with Clarice and spent Christmas with her. They told more stories, opened gifts, and Clarice tried teaching Starscream some Christmas carols. She soon discovered that was a big mistake considering the fact that Starscream did not have much of a singing voice. By late afternoon, Screamer had grown an unexplainable fondness for this female organic and felt like he had known her for a long time, and it frightened him. She was human, so it didn’t make sense. He still had the same feelings towards humans, he thought, but maybe… just maybe he would make an exception when it came to Clarice. Could it have something to do with this strange and magical holiday the humans called ‘Christmas’? Sometime during the afternoon, Margaret made a surprise visit, bearing gifts of all kinds, and spent the rest of the afternoon with them and even spent the night. She was unsure of Starscream at first, but soon grew to love him as much as Clarice did. Starscream could tell that Margaret was a special friend and was something of a sister to Clarice, perhaps filling the empty gap her true sister left behind. She seemed like the only family Clarice had. It made him try to remember his own family that he had once had so very long ago on Cybertron. The memories were distant and fuzzy, though.

The next day, Starscream said goodbye to his new friends and started off toward the city in search of the Autobots, hoping that Perceptor had the shrink gun fixed and could return him to his proper size. He would be glad to be normal size again, but something deep inside him was sad to leave Clarice. He would have to make a mental note not to destroy her house in any future skirmishes. That went for Margaret too. He looked down at the crystal ornament in his hands and sighed. Was he growing soft? He shook his head to clear his thoughts and the ornament disappeared into his subspace pocket. Shaking the cold off him, he started on his way, transforming to jet mode and flying off in the direction of the place he was supposed to meet the Autobots. The sooner he could become his normal size again, the better. And he hoped it would be soon before he ended up freezing to death like what almost happened the last time.

“Curse this primitive planet and its pathetic organics!” he mumbled to himself.

-End


End file.
